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by onlyhereforellick



Series: Fictober ‘19 [16]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, fictober 19, post-ep 17x04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-20 18:50:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21061481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhereforellick/pseuds/onlyhereforellick
Summary: “Hey-“ he said while tipping her chin, “I’ll never get tired of carrying you.” As if he was reading her thoughts, he graced her with another assuring smile and soft kiss to her lips. This was it, this was home.





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**Author's Note:**

> Fictober 19; prompt 16: “Listen. No, really listen.”
> 
> I don’t love the ending, I got lazy & it's likely OOC but 🤷🏻♀️

The sheets on her bed were a mess, you’d think something fun happened recently in her bed. You’d be wrong. You’d have been wrong for the past several months, or was it years now?

Ellie tossed and turned all night and had yet to actually fall asleep. All she could hear was that stupid clown’s voice.

_I love you and I’m sorry._

_I love you and I’m sorry._

_I love you and I’m sorry._

Why it was playing like a broken record in her head, she had no idea. Yet, here she was, at 2 o’clock in the morning, awake. All because of that stupid clown. At some point nearing the 3 o’clock hour, the clown’s voice morphed into her own. 

_I love you and I’m sorry. _

Given her sleep-deprived state she hadn’t immediately noticed it changed in her head. Through the fog in her brain in took Ellie another moment to realize she was saying the words to Nick. She shot up out from under the covers, breathing heavily.  _Did she...? Did she just...? Did she just imagine herself saying I love you to Nick?_

And some how all of the puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place, just like that. She loved Nick. Why else would she be so affected by him around other girls? Why else would she have been terrified for him when he was drugged? Why else would she feel it so personally when he was avoiding her?  _Holy shit, she loved Nick._

This thought was closely followed by,  _holy shit I screwed up_. I accused him of murder, I joked about it, then I avoided ever talking about it.  No wonder he hadn’t been looking her in the eye. Granted, that had changed recently, they had some sort of unspoken truce after the round of apologies post Hurricane Ziva. They were slowly getting back to their normal selves, but it was off. She hadn’t noticed it till just now, Nick was still a little off. Still holding back, like he was having an inner debate with himself. And regardless of whatever that was, he deserved the truth. He deserved to know where she stood, especially after all she put him through this past year.

Picking up her phone and not even bothering to find his contact, she dialed Nick’s number from memory. Seconds after she heard the line ringing she remembered it was now three fifteen in the morning. She pulled the phone down to end the call and try again at a more reasonable hour, but she heard Nick’s clear voice coming through the speaker, “Hello? Ellie?”

Rushing to bring it back up to her ear, she answered, “Nick? Yeah, hey, it’s Ellie.” She paused, realizing she didn’t know what to say.

“Ellie? You uh-, you called me...” Nick reminded her gently.

_Speak!_ “I love you and I’m sorry.” She regurgitated the only words that came to mind.

“What the hell, Bishop! You trying to give me nightmares?? Don’t be quoting that creepy ass clown at me.” Nick retorted quickly, shocked. 

“Wait, no! Listen—“ she started to explain herself.

“Ellie—“ 

He warned her at the same time that she continued, “Listen. No, really listen. I was an idiot. I called to tell you I love you, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I screwed up, Nick. I really, really am. Weirdly enough, it took a creepy freaking clown to make me address something I’ve been subconsciously avoiding. Even if you can’t say it back, I hope you forgive me.”

“Ellie—“ he tried to reply before she cut him off, she was on a roll anyways.

“No, you know what? I’m coming over. I need to tell you this in person, this isn’t a phone conversation.” She hurriedly grabbed her keys and wallet while she tugged on her shoes. 

Nick tried again, “But, Ellie—“

“Nick. I’m coming. And that’s that, you can’t stop me. I will fight for you and your forgiveness, I—“ She opened the door and came to an abrupt stop. 

There was Nick, standing with his phone to his ear, a few yards away on the front walkway to her place. 

Still talking into the phone, she stated a little dumbfounded, “You’re here.”

“I’m here,” he replied into the phone.

Slowly she pulled the phone away from her ear and robotically pressed to end the call, almost as if she was entranced by his unexpected presence at almost four in the morning. In the back of her mind she knew he couldn’t have driven here in the amount of time they’d been on the phone, which meant...he’d been on his way.  _Why?_

Nick began to raise something in his left hand that she hadn’t noticed before. A teddy bear maybe? Once he brought it to chest level, he squeezed its belly.

_I love you and I’m sorry._

The rush of emotions she felt when she heard those words, it- well, she had no words. Her facial expression immediately softened, and love overtook the determined set to her eyes. Within seconds she was running, it wasn’t far but she didn’t want to waste another moment not in his arms. Foregoing the last few steps to leap towards him, Nick caught her with ease as she wrapped her legs around his middle. 

She opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her with a quick shake of his head. “Ellie, I’ll always forgive you. I love you.”

His gaze seared through her, the love so intense she thought she might melt on the spot. “And I love you, Nick. I’ve been denying it for way too long, I’m sorry.”

A quick smirk was the last thing she saw before his lips crashed into hers. Getting caught up in the passion, they broke apart a few minutes later for air. Resting her forehead on his, she let out a light chuckle. 

“What?” Nick probed, a hint of worry in his tone. 

“Two things: I’m glad it’s four in the morning and no one in their right mind is awake-“ she chuckled again, a little harder this time. “And I’m a little mad it took a murderous clown doll to finally set me straight.” She was now full on laughing, but Nick had joined in. 

“Hey that makes two of us!” He added with a snort. 

Speaking without thinking, Ellie chimed in, “Well that’ll be a story for the grandkids!” The second the words left her lips she slammed her mouth shut, hoping she didn’t already ruin the best thing to happen to her. 

With the most genuine smile she’d seen from him in a while, Nick surprised her with his reply, “Hell yes it will be. I can’t wait.” He gave her a quick peck to reassure her. “Shall we go inside?”

“Oh, yes!” She said, jumping down quickly and turning to walk towards the house.  _Duh, Ellie. You attacked him and now expect him to hold you forever? _ Before she could get far, she felt a tug on her wrist as she was spun around landing flush with Nick’s hard chest. 

“Hey-“ he said while tipping her chin, “I’ll never get tired of carrying you.” As if he was reading her thoughts, he graced her with another assuring smile and soft kiss to her lips. This was it, this was home. 


End file.
